Narayan Sadashiv Hosmane – The Life of the Cancer Warrior

The battle against cancer is always a long and a tiring one, but human minds have not given up as they are trying tirelessly to find newer ways of combating this terminal foe. There have been a few scientists and doctors who have taken up medical fights against cancer in an attempt to successfully subdue and eventually control it. One such name is Nayaran Sadashiv Hosmane, a world famous cancer researcher and chemist born in India.

His Early Life and Education

Narayan Sadashiv Hosmane was born on the 30th of June, 1948 in Gokarna, Karnataka. He went to the famous Bhadrakali High School of the city for his primary and secondary education and then graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (Chemistry and Minor Botany) from Dr. A. V. Baliga College, in the city of Kumta.

It was during this time that he tied the nuptial knots with a Konkani speaking lady, Sumathy Rao. He now has a daughter and a son. During his long academic career, he did his Masters in Science from Karnataka University, his Ph.D. in Organometallic or Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Edinburg, 1975, and his post-doctoral research training from Queen’s University in Belfast.

After his post-doctoral research was over he went for training in the Lambeg Industrial Research Institute in Northern Ireland. His post-doctoral research also included his work at the University of Virginia with Russell Grimes.

It was after this extended period of research and training that he became a faculty in Chemistry at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1979 and then in 1982 joined as faculty at the Southern Methodist University. During his tenure here, his skills elevated him to the post of a professor in Chemistry in 1989.

His Work and Achievements

Dr. Narayan Hosmane, after becoming a full time professor, joined the Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. He stayed at the institute and made his way up to the Board of Trustees for the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It was during this time he kept working on finding a cure for and preventing cancer.

His work has brought great results to the overall status of battling the disease. He has been awarded with numerous accolades and honors for his contribution and effort. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pravasi Bharatiya confluence. He received a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn, Germany.

He was honored with the Pride of India Gold Award from the NRI institute in Washington D.C., and received the honor of the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Distinguished Chain of Chemistry in the University of Hyderabad.

The list does not end here, as in the new millennium he again received the Humboldt Award together with an Outstanding Grand Acquisition Award and the Presidential Research Professorship Award from North Illinois University. He also won the BUSA award for achievements in Boron Science. He has received countless other accolades for his work and research from many other institutes, and this can give anyone a general idea on how important his work has been.